South Jersey Couple Facing Imminent Deportation Turn To US Senator For Help

CAMDEN, NJ. (CBS) — A Bridgeton couple faces possible deportation Friday and has called on New Jersey US Senator Cory Booker to intervene on their behalf.

A couple dozen people braved a bitter cold wind to recite the rosary outside Booker’s Camden office in hopes that Oscar and Humberta Campos won’t have to use the one way ticket to Mexico they’ve been required to purchase.

They’ve been here for 25 years, and raised three children together in this country. Speaking through a translator, Oscar concedes Booker’s already done a lot on their behalf.

Oscar and Humberta Campos (credit: David Madden)

“He has been supporting us, but we’re expecting more. We want more. We want him to do more,” Campos told KYW Newsradio.

The family and their supporters would like Booker to send a staffer to a Thursday meeting with ICE or introduce a measure that could put proceedings on hold.

Bishop Dennis Sullivan of the Catholic Diocese of Camden was among those at the vigil and questioned the propriety of the immigration crackdown.

“That system needs to be worked on and changed and it’s broken and it needs to be fixed,” Sullivan said.

A spokesman for Booker, Thomas Pietrykoski, issued the following statement to KYW Newsradio:

“The immigration policies proposed by the Trump Administration stand in stark contrast to some of our most fundamental American values and callously target New Jerseyans who contribute so much to what makes our state and nation strong. Mr. and Mrs. Campos’ case reinforces the urgent need for us to stand united in seeking common sense solutions to our broken immigration system that are consistent with our core American principles. While Senator Booker’s office worked for months with the Campos family and federal officials on this case, we are extremely disappointed that ICE has denied the request for a stay of removal and saddened to see another family needlessly torn apart.”